Barrack Obama. So his term as American president is slowly winding down.

AMKC

Will you miss Obama and what did you think of him as the American president?

I think Obama has been a very good American president he done his best he got America back working after it was left in a terrible state by Bush and the World recession. He also made some mistakes to do. He should have acted on Syria instead of standing back. He is only human do and none of us are perfect we can,t get everything right.
I think its sad his term is coming to on end and as someone in my family said today its a pity that it could not have ran for a 3rd term.

WoollyRedHat

As good as any president of the United States could be. Decent enough on the surface but ultimately just another cog in the machine. America is sick, he was not the apothecary that people hoped he would be.

darkpagandeath

Awful incredibly soft allowed Russia to act like it is Putin has no respect for him and complete contempt. Don't know how you can say he was responsible for the economy. Each state is fairly autonomous.

Amirani

People in general attribute far too much to the sitting president - both positive and negative. The actual power of the President when it comes to causing significant shifts economically, socially and politically can and generally is quite limited.

Obama I think has been pretty okay - best president of my lifetime anyway. Much of this is based on the lack of scandal during his presidency and his approach to issues, which was mostly based on logic and reasoning rather than sabre-rattling populism.

Donal55

I'm looking forward to the other joker taking over.

CHANGE!

neonsofa

I don't know enough about US politics to comment on his presidency, but he is a very charismatic and sexy man and I will miss his (his speech writer's?) speeches and tv appearance/interviews etc. And his wife Michelle seemed lovely and funny too. A decent family with very few "scandals" in their time in the white house.

eeguy

The president is a small rudder on a very big ship. The change people wanted with Obama could never be fully realised, especially with republican dominance.

The next 4 years (or 2 months according to some) will be very interesting.
When's the wall getting started?

Earthhorse

Hard to say. It's not clear to me what he was and wasn't responsible for given the complexities of the American system and the world we now live in. Overall, I would say his critics are too hard on him and his supporters too soft. Will miss him compared to Trump who is a loathsome character imo.

Elemonator

Amirani wrote: »

People in general attribute far too much to the sitting president - both positive and negative. The actual power of the President when it comes to causing significant shifts economically, socially and politically can and generally is quite limited.

Obama I think has been pretty okay - best president of my lifetime anyway. Much of this is based on the lack of scandal during his presidency and his approach to issues, which was mostly based on logic and reasoning rather than sabre-rattling populism.

I think he is the best president the US has had in a long while. The US, like any country in the world, doesn't realise how good it has it until its gone.

biko

I suppose he did what he could considering the circumstances but tbh I didn't see much good happening that I can contribute to him.
Imprisonment/war/national debt/Guantanamo/social issues all still remain as bad as ever.

Fr_Dougal

Great statesman.

eeguy

Whatever about his presidency, you can be guaranteed his memoirs will be a best seller.

fryup

i thought he was dare i say..............

........................................

.............................boring,

his press conferences would send you to sleep, maybe Donald will spice things up a bit

Berserker

A massive disappointment in my eyes. Talked and talked but didn't deliver. In 50 years time, he will be known as the first black president of the USA, which is a great achievement but that'll be it. Don't want to sound overly harsh, I have little doubt that he meant well but he just didn't get the job done. He had a horrific introduction to the job; first month in particular, to be fair to him.

His affordable healthcare initiative was a massive leap forward for millions of poor Americans. Shame it's top of Trumps agenda to destroy.

Overall a dignified, forward-thinking and intelligent President, and an educated and eloquent first lady are being swapped out for a spiteful, obnoxious, boorish vulgarian intent on turning the Presidency into a family business, and his trophy wife.

Harry Palmr

Never could (or would) match the hype.

Hamstrung on some many big issues not just because he was obviously in one corner and Congress in the other but because he never did really try to forge a bi-partisan path based on emotional common cause. He seemed to think facts and figures were sufficiently persuasive in themselves. Politically he thought like a technocract and that killed any chance to reach across and be met halfway. People like the warm fuzzy stuff.

pumpkin4life

Terrible terrible president. One of the reasons people voted for Trump and all was not just because Hillary was a terrible candidate, but because they wanted Obama or anything like him out the fùcking door.

Worst things he did? The fact that a black lad became President should have put to bed or weakened a lot of racial tension in the U.S. Obama went on to deliberately blow that up (remember Trayvon Martin?) completely. Racial tensions are at an all time high and its partly due to Obama's "poor minority exploited by evil white guy" crap. .

Then you have the national debt at 20 trillion and the piss poor economic performance, Snowden and the NSA watching you **** to Japanese fart porn, Guantanamo still open, destructive and nasty free trade agreements, the further destabilization of the Middle East...could go on.

But hey, he was in a pub and he said Is feidir linn so that makes him a cool lad.

And he wasn't Bush Jr or Lyndon J so he's definitely not the worst president they've had.

Goya

pumpkin4life wrote: »

Terrible terrible president. One of the reasons people voted for Trump and all was not just because Hillary was a terrible candidate, but because they wanted Obama out the fùcking door.

But he would have been out the door anyway?

Harry Palmr

pumpkin4life wrote: »

Terrible terrible president. One of the reasons people voted for Trump and all was not just because Hillary was a terrible candidate, but because they wanted Obama out the fùcking door.

Worst things he did? The fact that a black lad became President should have put to bed or weakened a lot of racial tension in the U.S. Obama went on to deliberately blow that up (remember Trayvon Martin?) completely. Racial tensions are at an all time low and its partly due to Obama's "poor minority exploited by evil white guy" crap. .

Then you have the national debt at 20 trillion and the piss poor economic performance, Snowden and the NSA watching you **** to Japanese fart porn, Guantanamo still open, destructive and nasty free trade agreements, the further destabilization of the Middle East...could go on.

But hey, he was in a pub and he said Is feidir linn so that makes him a cool lad.

And he wasn't Bush Jr or Lyndon J so he's definitely not the worst president they've had.

Er....

pumpkin4life

Goya wrote: »

But he would have been out the door anyway?

Yeah, I meant more that if he was a good president, and things were going well, Hillary Clinton would have got in/hammered Trump based on Obama's momentum/performance as a president.

Galway_Old_Man

Were he a President of another country he'd likely be up in court on War Crimes and Crimes against humanity, rather than having the media fawning all over him.

Bit like other recent US leaders I suppose, but it's worth bearing in mind when all this gushing tripe will be presented over the next few days. How quick we forget the bombings on hospitals, the eliminating of entire families at weddings, the massive security state he built up... etc etc

Possibly the first Nobel Peace Prize winner to bomb another (MSF)? Ok, well Kissenger maybe..

The three things he really achieved were Obamacare, and rapprochement with Cuba and Iran. Other than that, meh.

pumpkin4life

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Er....

Bollocks, another typo.

Corrected.

:D:D

fryup

pumpkin4life wrote: »

But hey, he was in a pub and he said Is feidir linn so that makes him a cool lad.

well in Ireland it does,

thank god Trump has no irish accentry...i really find it cringy when the irish start fawning over american presidents with the slightest connection to the old sod

Hank Scorpio

Some man to get a Nobel peace prize.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/09/america-dropped-26171-bombs-2016-obama-legacy

Race relations and inner city violence are worse than they've ever been.

His foreign policy and the state department did vast damage to the middle east and it's stability, paving the way for terrorism and immigration problems in the Western world.

Corruption in Government imo at an all time high. Even the FBI and DOJ are twisted.

He's a great speaker.

Galway_Old_Man

Oh and before we get too hung up on his war crimes, domestic security state buildup, pumping $1 trillion into a new nuclear arsenal (Thanks Obama!) etc let's not forget that back in the financial crisis his administration was no friend of Ireland. Timothy Geithner insisted there be no haircuts on the bondholders. And yet the morons went out to wave him into Moneygall and named the local Supermacs after him.

jimmycrackcorm

After the Trump administration I think the pope will canonize Obama just in comparison.

bucketybuck

I think he was a proper statesman and an excellent president, the only shame is that he served at a time when American politics is so utterly toxic.

If the Republican party had not devolved to a point where they traitorously put party before country no matter what the circumstances then he might have achieved great things, but unfortunately it did not matter what his goals or talents where, as a black democrat he was not going to be allowed to succeed.

I think in years to come Americans will hit rock bottom and look back with regret on the actions of their politicians over the past 8 years.

Little CuChulainn

If he had a bit more support from the houses I'd say he'd have made some great changes.

pumpkin4life

If he was a good president, Hillary Clinton would have won in a landslide imo.

eeguy

bucketybuck wrote: »

I think in years to come Americans will hit rock bottom and look back with regret on the actions of their politicians over the past 8 years.

I think the next 10 years will hit particularly hard in America regarding race and income inequality. Maybe on paper things will look better, but the reality for most people will be worse.
I highly doubt any of Trump's jobs and immigrations policies will work.

Sand

He is leaving office with better approval ratings than the incoming POTUS which says it all. I preferred McCain in 2008, with my view being Obama would be a decent domestic President but would be a poor "Leader of the free world".

- He did oversee the termination of Osama Bin Laden, and the thawing of relations with Cuba.
- He was weak internationally. He was not a foreign policy president, and displayed little or no interest in foreign affairs. US influence and prestige declined under his watch. Iraq was abandoned prematurely for domestic reasons, creating a vacuum filled by ISIS. In terms of Libya he did not take charge, creating another power vacuum filled by jihadists. In terms of Syria he established "red lines" then did nothing when they were crossed. Basically, under Obama the US was an ineffective foe and an unreliable ally. US allies and enemies got the message, and Putin in particular has been encouraged by Obama's passivity.
- Domestically he did okay, well even. He introduced Obamacare, and the genie is out of the bottle. The Republicans cant roll things back to the way they were before - they might talk big about repealing Obamacare but even Republican voters just want Obamacare 1.1. Tweaks, not repeal.
- He delivers a far more prosperous US to his successor than he inherited from his predecessor. He was a Wall Street president though. I suppose they all are.

Basically, an okay President. Certainly far, far better than the clownshow that will replace him.

Hank Scorpio

pumpkin4life wrote: »

If he was a good president, Hillary Clinton would have won in a landslide imo.

"There's one number you will almost never hear: More than 1,030 seats." That sobering number is the total of all of the seats — including Congress, state legislatures, and governorships — lost by the Democratic Party over Obama's two terms.

A seemingly decent man with a great knack for dealing with other people but a most ineffective president.

Let's see what Donald can come up with.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

ultra violet 5

the price of gold is about to slump,

any body with gold should sell

mikeoneilly

He didn't do much for black people except moan about police brutality

Markx

First U.S. president to approve the extrajudicial killing of a U.S. citizen. Increase in the use of targeted drone strikes on his watch. Seems like a nice guy though.

Galway_Old_Man

Hank Scorpio wrote: »

Some man to get a Nobel peace prize.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/09/america-dropped-26171-bombs-2016-obama-legacy

Yeah but they were 26,171 progressive bombs





I always get a laugh outta this The Onion bit on the finale of Breaking Bad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvGCYyZPYPg

pumpkin4life

As for Obamacare, it's economically unsustainable and fairly unpopular in the States.

http://www.people-press.org/2016/04/27/more-americans-disapprove-than-approve-of-health-care-law/

How the feck can you have a 25% increase in premiums?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-24/obamacare-benchmark-premiums-to-rise-25-in-sharpest-jump-yet

Mad stuff Ted.

RobertKK

Obama had a pretty poor presidency.

Gave the go-ahead to attack Libya, thousands dead and it aided ISIS.
Supported the opposition to Assad in Syria who were anti-secular, which assisted in making a humanitarian crisis worse.
Allowed parts of Iraq to be controlled by terrorists and the same in Libya.
Record breaking arms deals to Saudi Arabia, who attacked their neighbour Yemen, where the Saudi's also helped starve people.
Worse relations with Russia since the cold war.
Managed to lose the Philippines as an ally.
Policies which assisted the migrant crisis in Europe.
A rise in Islamic terrorism in the US.
Black lives matter came into existence during his presidency.
His home city of Chicago with a murder rate much higher.
Really went all in with drone strikes and every Tuesday Obama would personally give the go-ahead on who the drones should kill, which also kill many innocent people.
His government supported a coup against the democratically elected leader of Honduras.
Obamacare costs out of control.
Added $11 trillion to the national debt

Positives with Cuba and Iran.

Overall his presidency was so bad, it allowed Trump to win.

eeguy

pumpkin4life wrote: »

How the feck can you have a 25% increase in premiums?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-24/obamacare-benchmark-premiums-to-rise-25-in-sharpest-jump-yet

Mad stuff Ted.

you can ask the car insurance companies here?

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Jimbob1977

He was a good President, but he could never be the Messiah that some Americans expected.

Economy: B grade. Jobs are being created. Income is still relatively static. Not too bad.

Domestic Affairs: B grade. Affordable Healthcare was always going to be controversial with a minority Congress. The knives were sharpened from the outset.

Race relations remain fragile, but that's not his fault. It's been like that for 400 years. He was never going to solve the country's history of violence.

Foreign Affairs: C grade. The Russians have made a fool of the United States. Big talk about red lines. Not followed through. Putin delivers the 'peace' in Syria. Piecemeal interventions by giving rebels a few quid to have a go. I can't think of a previous president who let Russia strut around. Isolationist like FDR.

Overall..... A safe pair of hands. Good intentions, but hamstrung by lack of power

Sam Kade

AMKC wrote: »

Will you miss Obama and what did you think of him as the American president?

I think Obama has been a very good American president he done his best he got America back working after it was left in a terrible state by Bush and the World recession. He also made some mistakes to do. He should have acted on Syria instead of standing back. He is only human do and none of us are perfect we can,t get everything right.
I think its sad his term is coming to on end and as someone in my family said today its a pity that it could not have ran for a 3rd term.

Like a lot of presidents before him he was merely a puppet on a string, did you see the time his teleprompter went on the blink and he was reduced to a stuttering bum that could barely string a sentence together?

Sand

Sam Kade wrote: »

a stuttering bum that could barely string a sentence together

You're going to love the next couple of years so.

Sam Kade

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

After the Trump administration I think the dope will canonize Obama just in comparison.

Fixed, he is after all the antichrist.

Zaph

He's a good, decent man who had great ambitions for his country when he was first elected, but because of Republican dominated houses for much of his presidency he never got to fulfil many of those ambitions. Consequently I think history will be a little unkind to him and will consider him a somewhat ineffectual president in many ways, which is a shame because he's a very likeable man. It's also interesting to see how 8 years of battling the GOP playing silly buggers has worn him down. He certainly looks like he's aged a good bit more than 8 years during his time in the White House.

jimmycrackcorm

Sam Kade wrote: »

Fixed, he is after all the antichrist.

Funny you should say that:

https://www.elitereaders.com/nostradamus-predicted-donald-trump-anti-christ-world-war-3/

Sam Kade

Sand wrote: »

You're going to love the next couple of years so.

Trump ditched the teleprompter, at least he can talk without it

Sam Kade

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Funny you should say that:

https://www.elitereaders.com/nostradamus-predicted-donald-trump-anti-christ-world-war-3/

Nostradamus didn't predict sh1t, all he did was write gibberish and some clown tried to translate it trying to prove he predicted things that already happened. For instance his translation of the twin towers was two sparrows in a tree that burned :rolleyes:

dresden8

Obama is the drone strike president.

Remote controlled murder.